Category: Congregation

These are the intercessions we prayed during last week’s Zoom Evening Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, we ask you blessing on all those, whoever and wherever they may be, fighting to contain and conquer Covid-19. We ask you to give wisdom and a sense of responsibility to all those in authority, and to enable them to fully harness the skills of all medical and scientific staff involved.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Father, we thank you for bringing us together and we ask you blessing on our Bishops, Robert and David, Archdeacon Leslie and our Area Dean, John Newsome, and sister churches in the Diocese of Europe, but also on churches here in Hamburg that like the nearby ‘Michel’ are facing serious losses due to falls in visitor numbers.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Father, we pray that the struggle against this plague, like the one against cholera in Hamburg, may eventually bring lasting benefits for the existences and the health of your peoples around the globe, in the Eastern and Western, Southern and Northern hemispheres alike. Help those fighting to eliminate hunger that in the words of one reading this week, ‘the valleys may be so thick with corn that they laugh and sing’. Be with all those in the arts, hospitality and travel sector whose livelihoods are under such pressure.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Father, we remember all those confined in institutions, in prisons and hospitals and care homes. Keep alive in them a spirit pg hope that relief will come when it is safe.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Father, we thank you for the gifts of sight and hearing and movement, we ask you to be with all those who, for age or other reasons, are contending with problems in those areas. We thank you for the variety of quite recent inventions to alleviate the problems, and also for all the equipment that
can bring worship, music and drama and news right into our homes.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Father, we thank you for bringing us together this evening and we give thanks for Fr Pete and all those making our Friday and Sunday gatherings possible. Yesterday was the feast of St Barnabas, known as the son of encouragement, so help us all to spread a gospel of love, joy, peace, patience
and humility.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Then participants were invited to share their own prayers if they wished to do so.

These are the intercessions we prayed during last week’s Zoom Evening Prayer:

Please join me in prayer for the church and for the world, for our community and people close to us.

The response to ‘Lord, in your mercy’ is ‘Hear our prayer’.

Lord, we thank you for bringing us together once more on this Saturday evening – allowing us to be together even though we still have to be physically apart. We think of those from our community who cannot join us in this form. Help us to find different ways to reach out to them and show them that they have a community to rely on. We especially pray for those who have to stay at home due to sickness or because they have to care for a sick loved one. Lord, comfort them and support them in these difficult times.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

We also continue to pray for everyone affected by the ongoing pandemic. Whether they suffer from the virus themselves, have lost loves ones to it or are on the front line as healthcare professionals. Whether they fear for their existence due to the economic crisis or risk their health every day by working in essential industries that keep our society running. We also pray for everyone working hard every day on finding a cure or a vaccine. We ask you to watch over them and their loved ones.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Lord, during this time we also think particularly of people around the world suffering from and fighting institutional racism and prosecution and living in fear of it every day. And while current events in the United States are in our focus now and it would be easy to look at this as something happening far away from us, always help us to remember that there are still too many people suffering from this worldwide, including within our own city. Lord, help the ones among us who are lucky enough to not know what is feels like to face xenophobia and racial persecution in our own country to open our hearts and really listen to those who have, so we can understand what they are going through. Give us the words to speak up in support of them, and guide us and also leaders and people in power across the world to forge a better society for all your children.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Finally, we ask you to guide our church in the process of finding our new chaplain. We pray for everyone directly involved in this process – please empower them to help us find the person who is truly called by you to fill this position here in Hamburg.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Then participants were invited to share their own prayers if they wished to do so.